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anniereads221's review against another edition
4.5
I got a chance to read it on it's release day. But due to dental pain have had to take breaks and come back and forth between it.
Anthologies are always hit or miss for me. But this one i really enjoyed, there was only one story out of all of them that i did not vibe with at all.
My favourites have to be
H O M E by K. Ancrum
Fractal Eyes by Ugochi M. Agoawike
Concerto by Abdi Nazemian
Reshadow by Adam Sass
The Rift by Claire Kann
Doublers by Alex London
I am really thinking of getting the other Anthologies to read after reading this one 🤔
Graphic: Transphobia, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Colonisation, Death, Cancer, War, Homophobia, Violence, Vomit, Bullying, and Grief
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Like all anthologies, it has its highs and lows. As a whole, I enjoyed most of the stories. However, some of them were really difficult to understand. Maybe it's because I've been in a reading slump, but some stories felt like they lacked proper details to be fully comprehensible. Also, a lot of them were really sad. Too many for my taste. I'm not a big fan of sad queer stories. They are necessary to have a wide diversity of stories that encompass as many experiences as possible, just not my cup of tea.
The stories I loved the most are:
Like Sunshine, Like Concrete by Z.R. Ellor - if The Boys was less violent...
The Department of Homegoing Affairs by Kalynn Bayron - the grief!
Present Tense by Jim McCarthy - all the Straights disappearing? I am HERE for it!
Concerto by Abdi Nazemian - the power of music
Nobody Cares who we Kiss at the End of the World by Leah Johnson - it just hits right there.
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Lesbophobia, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Biphobia, Violence, Medical content, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Grief
Minor: Misogyny, Death, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder
starrysteph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There was a huge amount of representation of identities and experiences across these 17 stories. I made a (probably incomplete) list here:
- Achillean MCs
- Sapphic MCs
- Trans MCs
- Nonbinary MCs
- Main characters identifying as: gay, lesbian, bi, aromantic
- Supporting characters identifying as: pan, demi
- Indigenous MC
- Black MCs
- Indian MCs
- Iranian MC
- Colombian MC
I wish there was disability representation.
We get a range of plots – some were deeply emotional, some were witty & fun, and some were so sweet & hopeful. The writing quality is overall very high.
Some stories were pretty bleak (centered around climate struggle and apocalypses // and futures in which transphobia and homophobia feel just as extreme as our current reality). There is certainly joy as well, but please don't expect an entire collection of queer triumph.
My personal favorites were: Doublers, The Rift, Translating for the Machine, Present: Tense, Nick and Bodhi, Concerto, and H O M E.
CW: queerphobia, outing, misgendering, death, domestic abuse, murder, racism, bullying, climate disaster, medical content, classism, gun violence, dysphoria, military themes, grief, stalking, religious bigotry, mental illness, cancer
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Classism, Confinement, Child abuse, Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Bullying, Cancer, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Transphobia, Violence, Homophobia, Murder, Sexism, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Outing, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, and Gun violence